Jmorlan

Hey guys, im new to the mercedes scene, and am looking at an 03 E500 AMG with 138k miles. Has aftermarket rims, but everything else appears factory.

paint is in great shape along with interior, appears to be well taken care of.

My folks have a CLK 430 and have only had issues with AC, otherwise very reliable, just tipped 198k, and my mother beats it to hell.

My audi was smashed by an old man, so looking down a new avenue for a commuter back and forth to work.

I have my dealer license and will be buying the car at auction. It ran last week and sold for $8k, I missed the sale and was pissed, but now its back, running again tuesday.

VIN - WDBUF70J53A229465

I have been reading about the air suspension failing, and this car appears fairly low, auctioneer even announced "looks like it may have been lowered guys"

Any help or insight on what to look for would be great.

Thanks.

vettdvr

2003 ........ 138K miles.................would I buy it NO. however if it were $3000 possibly then I could make $$ by parting it out.

SBC brakes, possible Valeo coolant leak into tranny, airmatic suspension.... all these = BIG $$ for repairs and these are issues in that model.

hooligan

e500 amg? are you saying its an e500 with the amg style package? true amg are e55 or e63 in that class from what i know , but i am a newbie if the bid was low enough id go for it if it looks good all around . i know you can drive them before bids but can you pop the hood and start before it goes up on bid?

Green E-300 DT

Sounds like it may just have the AMG styling package.

I'd pass account of the air suspension which I've heard can cost you as much as $2K per corner to repair.
Other than that, you might try and locate a good CDI 'cause they do not have the air ride.
Of course, they do run more money, but the fuel economy is really something to brag about!
Wonder how much a good 2005-2006 CDI would fetch at auction?



DHG

KEY08

$8,000 is no deal on that with those miles. Maybe that is why it has "returned" to the auction block.

Flash Gordon

Run away from it! Seriously.

starbrite

that's a big 10-4 !!

WEBSRFR

So basically these cars are worthless when they hit 9-10 years?

This is what happens when they build cars with no sense of longevity or maintaining them at a reasonable cost when they get older.

vettdvr

That's what happens when you build luxury cars that aren't reliable. 'The word gets out" Reputation will only get you so far. Results matter.

jagata

8k seems high, but if you can get lower than buy it. I've seen w211 with double that mileage and run strong. My 04 e500 has 145K miles and all it needed was a Crank Position sensor and front airmatic strut, regular maintained cars last a very long time.

WEBSRFR

So basically at 9 years A Mercedes E500 is worth as much as a Toyota Camry. Or might even be worth less than that. Just great.

How much did the crank position sensor cost you BTW? Mine went out leaving me stranded on the street and it was fixed under warranty so I don't know how much the cost would have been otherwise...

Jmorlan

I suppose it is an E500 with the AMG package?

I figured $8k wasnt a bad price for it. Ill drive it and poke around tomorrow morning before it hits the block, thanks for the info, and now that I know a bit more I can look it over.

My mom has CLK430 with 198k miles, only issue has been the damn AC not blowing cold, otherwise real solid. She still runs about 100 miles a day on it no issues.

Ill see if I can throw up a few pics, or a link to the car. And could anyone run a carfax on that vin for me by chance?

Im thinking either 1 of 2 things on why it is back running this week -
1. Someone bought it and is trying to off it
2. Someone bought it at a decent price and is trying to turn a quick buck

Link to vehicle - http://www.auctionpipeline.com/carre...t=YMkMd&rpp=25

jagata

Actually they are worth more than a Camry, he is buying wholesale thus the price. Crank sensor is about 150-200 then 100 labor.

gaazmon

Your moms CLK430 does not have:

1)airmatic suspension ($1K repair per corner)
2)sbc brakes (will never feel 100% comfortable with this system)
3)glycol contamination issue (it's an 03 so could be a possibility if not already fixed. i have an 04 and it had the issue)
4)fuel tank design issue (been a hot topic lately and people with non AMGs are starting to have the symptoms)

These cars can start costing an arm and a leg to repair. Other things such as ball joints/bushings/control arms, pano roof (if applicable), motor/tranny mounts.

First of all there is no such thing as an e500 amg, e320 amg, e350 amg, etc etc etc. They had an AMG package purely for cosmetic purposes, nothing else. And this car DOES NOT have the AMG package (it just has some ebay tips welded on the bottom). The only options it has that I can tell are parktronic and voice command.

If you really want an E, I would try to stick with 05 and newer. The 03 and 04 were plagued with issues. 05 things got better. I know there's a big price difference but if might catch up to you anyway with the 03. Something without airmatic would be better. It's a nice system when it works (not ABC nice), but can be HELL when things go wrong.

In the words of King Arthur...